1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for controlling an internal combustion engine and estimating engine friction torque.
2. Background Art
An error in an estimate of friction torque used in the control of an internal combustion engine in a vehicle powertrain may have a direct effect on drivability performance of a vehicle powered by the engine. The performance depends on the accuracy of an engine torque model. One of the components of the engine torque model is engine friction torque. The values of engine friction torque, which are pre-calibrated, are memorized in a look-up table or static map residing in the memory of an engine controller.
Friction torque is mainly a function of engine speed, engine indicated torque, and engine oil temperature. Variability in engine components may result in variations in the engine friction torque for a given vehicle installation. Further, friction torque variations might not be the same for different vehicles. Friction torque losses, moreover, change with time due to aging of engine components. These variations cause errors in the estimate of friction torque, and thus lead to deterioration of drivability performance.
Because of the foregoing considerations, it is desirable to develop real-time algorithms to improve the accuracy of the engine friction model.
Friction torque can be estimated if load torque is known. Load torque can be estimated by using wheel speed measurements. Unfortunately, load torque depends on vehicle mass and road gradient, which are unknown parameters.
An opportunity for estimating friction is during engine idle, when the engine is decoupled from the driveline, output shaft torque is zero and the transmission is in neutral. The idle state, however, will give an estimate of the friction torque only at idle speed and low indicated torque. All the sites or nodes of the look-up table could be adapted by using new values of the friction torque at idle. However, even small errors in the friction estimation at idle due to errors in accessory loads, for example, could lead to significant errors in the friction estimation at high rotational speeds. Moreover, the friction losses due to aging of the engine components could also change as a function of the engine speed (not only the offset, but also the gradient of the map should be adapted). Therefore, more points for different engine speeds and loads are required for adaptation of a friction look-up table.